Tasks

ARTICLES ABOUT TASKS BY DATE - PAGE 4

Prospective appointees to Chicago area transit agency boards should be vetted by an independent, nonpolitical panel to ensure they are qualified and reputable, former U.S. attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has recommended. Board members also should serve without compensation, Fitzgerald proposed, unlike the current system that pays anywhere from $10,000 a year to Pace board members to $25,000 to CTA and Regional Transportation Authority directors. A "firewall" should separate board members and the elected officials who appoint them from the agencies they oversee to ensure no political interference is exerted in hiring or promotions, Fitzgerald said.

After a snowstorm this winter, Robin Hoecker had to cancel plans to walk to Lincoln Square with her mother to shop. Because her mom has nerve damage in her leg, traversing the walkways made treacherous by snow and ice was too risky. "We couldn't walk anywhere because there was slush and snow and ice," said Hoecker, 33. "It's just a shame. " As Chicagoans endure one of the five snowiest seasons in recorded history, regular pedestrians like Hoecker are left to skate or climb across sidewalks that, in some cases, are never cleared.

By Paul Taylor PARIS, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Western nations face a daunting task to help stabilise a near bankrupt Ukraine after a popular uprising toppled its Russian-backed president, and will need to placate a wounded Moscow. The biggest challenge falls to the European Union, which helped broker an end to violent repression in Kiev last week, after Ukrainians rebelled against President Viktor Yanukovich. The EU now faces the pottery shop rule: you break it, you own it. Yet it is far from clear that west European members want to take ownership of rescuing the sprawling former Soviet republic of 46 million people.

Kudos to the Illinois legislature for creating a task force on heroin abuse. Unfortunately, what a poor choice in State Rep. Lou Lang, D-Ill., to spearhead this task force. Lang's comments, combined with his legislative actions, demonstrate his lack of knowledge and interest in providing proper protections for Illinois citizens. He has no grasp of the causes and scope of addiction, and makes no attempt to see the big picture. Rather than advocate for education, intervention and treatment, he repeatedly states that Illinois' economic stability is dependent upon legalization, expansion and taxation of harmful behaviors, like gambling and marijuana use. I urge House Speaker Michael Madigan to reconsider Lang's appointment, replacing him with an individual who is both knowledgeable and committed to reducing heroin and other drug use in the state.

Gaming is not lacking in wacky premises. Plumbers eating mushrooms and jumping on turtles is an industry standard. But what you rarely see is a wacky control scheme. "Octodad: Dadliest Catch" matches a great premise — an octopus living among humans — with a purposefully obtuse set of controls. The idea here is that, you know, it would probably be really difficult to be a floppy, uncoordinated octopus to walk on land and pass for human! And it is, if "Dadliest Catch" is any indication.

A mayoral-appointed task force recommends Niles officials lift the suburb's ban on video gambling - but with conditions to ensure residents' safety. The task force made the recommendation Thursday night, capping off two days of hearings last month that saw testimony on both sides of the debate over video gambling. Though yet to be determined, members said any conditions they would propose for video gambling would be "within reason. " "They'll be nothing outrageous," said Bruce Hertz, a ringside physician and one of three Niles residents who served as voting members on the task force.

With all the news recently about data breaches at major U.S. retailers — Target, Neiman Marcus, Michaels — many consumers might wonder if they should subscribe to an identity theft "protection" service. The short answer is, probably not, if your only concern is a thief fraudulently using your payment card information. Typically, that's not a big deal, and you won't lose any money. Still, stolen card numbers and other personal information is disconcerting. "For some people, this is the first time they're experiencing it, they really don't understand it and they are freaking out," said Eva Velasquez, CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center.